1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for converting corrugated cardboard boxes into loose fill packing material comprising elongated strips of cardboard which are substantially free of dirt, dust and other contaminants, and, which are coated with a liquid material having microbicidal, sanitizing, insect repellant, disinfectant and deodorizing properties.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a wide variety of packing materials, including Styrofoam peanuts. However, items packed in peanuts tend to shift, settle or creep within a container in the course of shipment. Also, the peanuts tend to move relative to one another, thereby permitting the packed items to shift.
This problem of shifting has been solved to some extent by the use of other packing materials in addition to or as a replacement for the Styrofoam peanuts. For example, “bubble-wrap” has also been used as an addition to or a substitute for Styrofoam peanuts. Unfortunately, bubble-wrap is also expensive and can be difficult to work with depending upon the size, shape and/or weight of an item to be shipped.
An issue with foam packing materials is that they promote the formation of static electricity within the container. The static can create substantial problems with sensitive electrical components. Additionally, electrostatically charged material attracts contaminants and other impurities which make their use undesirable for certain hygienic applications. Furthermore, the statically charged materials are difficult to handle, as the static charge causes the pieces of fill to repel each other.
Plastic packing materials create a disposal problem and can be dangerous to the environment. They use resources to create and do not readily biodegrade when placed in a landfill. Additionally, leaching can take place with certain plastics, thereby creating environmental hazards. Several states have considered laws to reduce or eliminate the dumping of plastics within sanitary landfills and this could pose a significant disposal problem. Also, plastic packing materials are non-absorbent if liquid leakage occurs during shipment. Another problem with Styrofoam is that they are impractical when shipping heavy objects, because the pieces of fill may break.
Also, cardboard strips used to protect packaged goods have several problems associated with it. However, current methods are inefficient in the manufacture of the fill. In addition, a large amount of tabs and odd shaped pieces are formed with the fill, causing interference with the latticing effect of the strips and breakdowns and increased maintenance of the apparatus. In addition, Furthermore, the dirt and dust raised by current methods make the fill material inappropriate for applications where cleanliness in the material is desired.